Distance measuring device, driving assistance system, and distance measuring method

Abstract

To provide technology that makes it possible to identify a reception pattern with which distance is measurable.SOLUTION: A distance measuring device 110 comprises: a sensor unit 10 in which the emission characteristic of an emitted wave and / or the reception characteristic of an incident wave including a reflected wave of the emitted wave having been reflected at a target is not even, in at least one of the horizontal direction and the vertical direction; a storage unit 20 that stores the reception patterns of a plurality of incident waves corresponding to the movement state of a moving vehicle 300 to which the distance measuring device is mounted; and a control unit 30 that determines, for each of the plurality of reception patterns, whether or not it is effective for distance measurement by using axial deviation information of the distance measuring device, and that, by using the acquired movement state, measures the distance to a target present in a predetermined detection range by using a reception pattern selected from the reception patterns determined to be effective.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a distance measuring device, a driving assistance system, and a distance measuring method. [Background technology]

[0002] There is a known technology for measuring distances using reflected waves generated when a sensor's emitted wave is reflected by a target in a distance measuring device mounted on a vehicle. Patent Document 1 describes a technology for setting a scanning pattern for the distance measuring device based on the moving state of the vehicle. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6843144 [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 5817270 [Patent Document 3] JP 2006-329971 A [Patent Document 4] Special Publication No. 2019-535014 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] If the distance cannot be measured with the desired scanning pattern, the sensor cannot meet the required performance, so the sensor is determined to be broken, the sensor failure is notified to the downstream of the sensor, and the distance measurement is stopped. If the axis of the distance measuring device becomes misaligned due to external factors such as aging deterioration or a collision, the distance cannot be measured with the desired scanning pattern, the sensor is determined to be broken, and the distance measurement may be stopped. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a distance measuring device (110), which includes a sensor unit (10) in which at least one of the emission characteristics of an emitted wave and the reception characteristics of an incident wave including a reflected wave of the emitted wave reflected by a target is not uniform in at least one of the horizontal and vertical directions, a storage unit (20) that stores a plurality of reception patterns of the incident wave corresponding to a moving state of a moving body (300) on which the distance measuring device is mounted, and a control unit (31) that uses axial deviation information of the distance measuring device to determine whether each of the plurality of reception patterns is effective for distance measurement, and measures the distance to the target present in a predetermined detection range using a reception pattern selected from the reception patterns determined to be effective using the acquired moving state.

[0006] According to the distance measuring device of this embodiment, it is possible to determine whether each of the multiple reception patterns is valid or not by using the axis shift information. Furthermore, the distance measuring device performs measurement using the reception pattern that is determined to be valid. Therefore, even if an axis shift occurs, distance measurement can be performed. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of the configuration of a driving assistance system. [Diagram 2] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the receiving characteristics of an incident wave. [Diagram 3] 11 is a flowchart showing an example of a reception pattern determination process. [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of a first reception pattern. [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of a second reception pattern. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of a third reception pattern. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing whether each reception pattern is valid or invalid. [Figure 8] 11 is a flowchart showing an example of a distance measurement process. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] A. First embodiment: As shown in FIG. 1, the driving assistance system 100 includes a moving body 300, a distance measuring device 110, an automatic driving control unit 210, a driving force control ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 220, a braking force control ECU 230, and a steering control ECU 240. The distance measuring device 110, the driving force control ECU 220, the braking force control ECU 230, and the steering control ECU 240 are connected via an in-vehicle network 250. The driving assistance system 100 executes automatic driving of the moving body 300. Note that the moving body 300 may be driven not only by automatic driving but also by manual driving manually performed by a driver. In this embodiment, the moving body 300 is a vehicle.

[0009] The distance measuring device 110 is a device that measures the distance to a target that exists within a predetermined detection range. The distance measuring device 110 is, for example, a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging). As the distance measuring device 110, a millimeter wave radar or a TOF camera (TOF: Time Of Flight) that can measure a three-dimensional position by using the flight time of light can be adopted. The distance measuring device 110 is mounted on the moving body 300. In this embodiment, the distance measuring device 110 measures the distance to a target that exists ahead in the traveling direction of the moving body 300.

[0010] The distance measuring device 110 includes a sensor unit 10, a storage unit 20, and a CPU 30. The CPU 30 executes a program installed in the storage unit 20 to realize the functions of a control unit 31. However, some or all of the functions of these units may be realized by a hardware circuit.

[0011] The sensor unit 10 emits an emitted wave and receives an incident wave including a reflected wave from a target. More specifically, the sensor unit 10 emits light using light-emitting elements arranged one-dimensionally in the vertical direction and a light-emitting element driving device (not shown). The sensor unit 10 also receives an incident wave using a plurality of light-receiving elements arranged one-dimensionally and a light-receiving element driving device (not shown). The distance measuring device 110 scans the light-emitting elements and light-receiving elements in the horizontal direction to measure distances in a two-dimensional area.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 2, in this embodiment, the sensor unit 10 does not have uniform reception characteristics of the incident wave in the horizontal and vertical directions in the reception range TA where the incident wave is received. More specifically, the sensor unit 10 has a plurality of reception characteristics in the horizontal and vertical directions in the reception range TA due to the arrangement of the light receiving elements and the density of the scanning. The horizontal central axis of the sensor unit 10 in the reception range TA is axis CH, and the vertical central axis of the sensor unit 10 in the reception range TA is axis CV. The sensor unit 10 has three stages of distance measurement characteristics A in the vertical direction. The distance measurement characteristics are determined by the reception characteristics and the emission characteristics of the emitted wave, and include distance accuracy and resolution.

[0013] The ranging performance increases in the order of ranging characteristic A, ranging characteristic B, and ranging characteristic C. The sensor unit 10 also has two stages of ranging characteristics in the horizontal direction. The ranging performance increases in the order of ranging characteristic O and ranging characteristic P. That is, in the reception range TA, the central area has the highest ranging performance, and the upper and lower end areas have the lowest ranging performance.

[0014] The storage unit 20 stores a plurality of reception patterns of incident waves corresponding to the moving state of the moving body 300. As the moving state, for example, the moving speed of the moving body 300, the gradient in the vertical direction along which the moving body 300 is to travel, the curve in the horizontal direction, etc. can be adopted. In this embodiment, the moving state is the moving speed of the moving body 300. The reception pattern is a pattern indicating which area in the reception range TA is desired to receive with what level of distance measurement performance. In this embodiment, the reception pattern is a pattern indicating which area in the reception range TA is desired to receive with what level of distance measurement performance.

[0015] In this embodiment, the storage unit 20 stores a combination of reception patterns for each function. The function is a function related to driving assistance for the moving object 300 executed by the driving assistance system 100 using information measured by the distance measuring device 110. An example of the function is automatic following driving of the moving object 300.

[0016] The control unit 31 performs measurement using a reception pattern selected using the axis shift information of the distance measuring device 110 and the moving state of the moving body 300. First, the control unit 31 uses the axis shift information of the distance measuring device 110 to determine whether each of the multiple reception patterns is valid or not. The axis shift information is information including the amount of shift in the horizontal and vertical directions of the driving assistance system 100 relative to the moving body 300. The axis shift information may be obtained by the control unit 31 using a known technique, or axis shift information obtained by another device may be obtained. Next, the control unit 31 uses the obtained current moving state to determine a reception pattern to be used for measurement from among the reception patterns determined to be valid. The control unit 31 performs measurement using the selected reception pattern.

[0017] The automatic driving control unit 210 is composed of a microcomputer configured with a central processing unit (CPU), RAM, and ROM, and realizes an automatic driving function by the microcomputer executing a pre-installed program. The automatic driving control unit 210 realizes the automatic driving function by controlling the driving force control ECU 220, the braking force control ECU 230, and the steering control ECU 240. For example, the automatic driving control unit 210 controls the driving force control ECU 220 and the braking force control ECU 230, and automatically changes lanes using the steering control ECU 240.

[0018] The driving force control ECU 220 is an electronic control device that controls an actuator that generates a driving force for the moving body 300, such as an engine. When the driver drives manually, the driving force control ECU 220 controls the power source, which is the engine or an electric motor, according to the amount of operation of the accelerator pedal. On the other hand, when autonomous driving is performed, the driving force control ECU 220 controls the power source according to the required driving force calculated by the autonomous driving control unit 210.

[0019] The braking force control ECU 230 is an electronic control device that controls a brake actuator that generates a braking force for the moving body 300. When the driver drives manually, the braking force control ECU 230 controls the brake actuator according to the amount of operation of the brake pedal. On the other hand, when the vehicle is driven autonomously, the braking force control ECU 230 controls the brake actuator according to the required braking force calculated by the autonomous driving control unit 210.

[0020] The steering control ECU 240 is an electronic control device that controls a motor that generates a steering torque for the moving body 300. When the driver drives manually, the steering control ECU 240 controls the motor according to the operation of the steering wheel to generate an assist torque for the steering operation. This allows the driver to operate the steering wheel with a small amount of force, and realizes steering of the moving body 300. On the other hand, when autonomous driving is performed, the steering control ECU 240 performs steering by controlling the motor according to the required steering angle calculated by the autonomous driving control unit 210.

[0021] 3 is a process in which the distance measuring device 110 determines whether or not the reception pattern is valid. This process is preferably performed repeatedly during the operation of the driving assistance system 100. This process may be performed only when the driving assistance system 100 is started, or may be performed each time the axis deviation information is updated.

[0022] In step S100, the distance measuring device 110 acquires axis deviation information.

[0023] In step S110, the distance measuring device 110 determines whether the reception pattern is valid or not by using the axis misalignment information acquired in step S100. More specifically, the distance measuring device 110 determines whether the required distance measurement characteristics are satisfied when the position of the central axis of the detection range in the reception pattern is moved according to the amount of axis misalignment.

[0024] The first reception pattern shown in FIG. 4 is a reception pattern used in the first function when the moving speed of the moving body 300 exceeds a predetermined first threshold speed. The first threshold speed is, for example, 80 km / h. FIG. 4 shows distance measurement characteristics required in the vertical direction. In the detection range of the first reception pattern corresponding to the central axis CL1 of the moving body 300, the first area A11 has distance measurement characteristics C, and the second area A12 has distance measurement characteristics B. That is, in the first reception pattern, the distance measurement performance of the first area A11 in the detection range is higher than the distance measurement performance of the second area A12, which is an area surrounding the first area A11. As shown in FIG. 4(b), in the initial state when no axial misalignment occurs, the axis CV, which is the central axis of the sensor unit 10 in the horizontal direction, coincides with the central axis CL1 of the moving body 300.

[0025] Fig. 4(a) shows the limit of axial misalignment in the vertical direction upwards that can satisfy the required distance measurement characteristics in the first reception pattern. If the detection range is moved downward from the position shown in Fig. 4(a) in accordance with the axial misalignment of the axis CV of the sensor unit 10, reception is only possible with distance measurement characteristic B in the first area A11 where distance measurement characteristic C is required. In other words, the required distance measurement characteristics can be satisfied even if the detection range is moved downward from the axis CV up to the position shown in Fig. 4(a).

[0026] Fig. 4(c) shows the limit of downward axial misalignment in the vertical direction that can satisfy the required distance measurement characteristics in the first reception pattern. If the detection range is moved above the position shown in Fig. 4(c) in accordance with the axial misalignment of axis CV of sensor unit 10, reception is only possible with distance measurement characteristic B in first area A11, where distance measurement characteristic C is required. In other words, the required distance measurement characteristics can be satisfied even if the detection range is moved above axis CV, so long as it is up to the position shown in Fig. 4(c).

[0027] The second reception pattern shown in FIG. 5 is a reception pattern used in the first function when the moving speed of the moving body 300 exceeds a predetermined second threshold speed. The second threshold speed is slower than the first threshold speed, for example, 50 km / h. The viewing angle of the second reception pattern is wider than that of the first reception pattern. The distance measurement characteristic of the second reception pattern is lower than that of the first reception pattern. In the detection range of the second reception pattern corresponding to the central axis CL2 of the moving body 300, the first region A21 has the distance measurement characteristic B, and the second region A22 has the distance measurement characteristic A. That is, in the second reception pattern, the distance measurement performance of the first region A21 in the detection range is higher than that of the second region A22, which is the region surrounding the first region A21. In FIG. 5, the distance measurement characteristic required in the vertical direction is shown. As shown in FIG. 5(b), in the initial state where no axial misalignment occurs, the axis CV which is the horizontal central axis of the sensor unit 10 and the central axis CL2 of the moving body 300 coincide with each other.

[0028] Fig. 5(a) shows the limit of axial misalignment in the vertical direction upwards that can satisfy the required distance measurement characteristics in the second reception pattern. If the detection range is moved downward from the position shown in Fig. 5(a) in accordance with the axial misalignment of the axis CV of the sensor unit 10, reception is only possible with distance measurement characteristics A in the first area A21 where distance measurement characteristics B are required. In other words, the required distance measurement characteristics can be satisfied even if the detection range is moved downward from the axis CV up to the position shown in Fig. 5(a).

[0029] Fig. 5(c) shows the limit of downward axial misalignment in the vertical direction that can satisfy the distance measurement characteristics required for the second reception pattern. If the detection range is moved upward from the position shown in Fig. 5(c) in accordance with the axial misalignment of the axis CV of the sensor unit 10, reception is only possible with distance measurement characteristics A in the first area A21 where distance measurement characteristics B are required. In other words, the required distance measurement characteristics can be satisfied even if the detection range is moved upward from the axis CV up to the position shown in Fig. 5(c).

[0030] The third reception pattern shown in FIG. 6 is a reception pattern used in the first function when the moving speed of the moving body 300 is equal to or lower than the second threshold speed. The viewing angle of the second reception pattern is the same as that of the third reception pattern. The distance measurement performance of the third reception pattern is lower than that of the second reception pattern. The distance measurement characteristics in the detection range of the third reception pattern associated with the central axis CL3 of the moving body 300 are all the same. FIG. 6 shows the distance measurement characteristics required in the vertical direction. As shown in FIG. 6(b), in the initial state when no axial misalignment occurs, the axis CV, which is the central axis of the sensor unit 10 in the horizontal direction, coincides with the central axis CL3 of the moving body 300.

[0031] Fig. 6(a) shows the limit of the axial misalignment in the vertical direction upwards that can satisfy the distance measurement characteristics required for the third reception pattern. If the detection range is moved downward from the position shown in Fig. 6(a) in accordance with the axial misalignment of the axis CV of the sensor unit 10, an area will be created where the incident wave cannot be received. In other words, the detection range can be moved downward from the axis CV up to the position shown in Fig. 6(a) and still satisfy the required distance measurement characteristics.

[0032] Fig. 6(c) shows the limit of downward axial misalignment in the vertical direction that can satisfy the required distance measurement characteristics for the third reception pattern. If the detection range is moved upward from the position shown in Fig. 6(c) in accordance with the axial misalignment of the axis CV of the sensor unit 10, an area will be created where the incident wave cannot be received. In other words, the detection range can be moved upward from the axis CV up to the position shown in Fig. 6(c) and still satisfy the required distance measurement characteristics.

[0033] In the following, a case will be described as an example in which the amount of axis misalignment that has occurred is an amount that determines the first and second reception patterns to be invalid by the reception pattern determination process. That is, a case will be described as an example in which the control unit 31 determines that the first and second reception patterns are invalid and that the third reception pattern is valid.

[0034] The table shown in FIG. 7 shows the combination of reception patterns for each function and whether each reception pattern is valid or invalid. The first to seventh reception patterns are all different from each other. In the first function, when the moving speed of the moving body 300 is 50 km / h or less, the third reception pattern is used, when the moving speed of the moving body 300 is more than 50 km / h and less than 80 km / h, the second reception pattern is used, and when the moving speed of the moving body 300 is more than 80 km / h, the first reception pattern is used. That is, in the first function, when the moving speed of the moving body 300 is 50 km / h or less, a predetermined reception pattern corresponding to the moving state is valid.

[0035] In the second function, when the moving speed of the moving body 300 is 80 km / h or less, the fifth reception pattern is used, and when the moving speed of the moving body 300 exceeds 80 km / h, the fourth reception pattern is used. The fourth reception pattern is invalid and the fifth reception pattern is valid. That is, in the second function, when the moving speed of the moving body 300 is 80 km / h or less, a predetermined reception pattern corresponding to the moving state is valid.

[0036] In the third function, when the moving speed of the moving body 300 is 50 km / h or less, the seventh reception pattern is used, and when the moving speed of the moving body 300 exceeds 50 km / h, the sixth reception pattern is used. That is, in the third function, when the moving speed of the moving body 300 is 120 km / h or less, a predetermined reception pattern corresponding to the moving state is valid.

[0037] 8 is a process in which the distance measuring device 110 performs distance measurement. This process is repeatedly performed while the driving assistance system 100 is in operation.

[0038] In step S200, the distance measuring device 110 selects a reception pattern to be used for distance measurement using the result of the reception pattern determination process and the moving state of the moving body 300. More specifically, the distance measuring device 110 selects a reception pattern to be used for measurement from among the reception patterns determined to be valid using the acquired moving state. In this embodiment, the distance measuring device 110 acquires the moving speed of the moving body 300, and determines to use a reception pattern determined to be valid among reception patterns corresponding to the acquired moving speed or less for distance measurement. In the following, a case where the moving speed of the moving body 300 is 75 km / h will be described as an example. In the first function, the associated first reception pattern is invalid, so the distance measuring device 110 determines to use the third reception pattern, which is a reception pattern determined to be valid, for distance measurement. In the second function, the associated fifth reception pattern is valid, so the distance measuring device 110 determines to use the fifth reception pattern for distance measurement in the second function. Furthermore, in the third function, since the associated sixth reception pattern is valid, the distance measuring device 110 determines to use the sixth reception pattern for distance measurement in the third function.

[0039] In step S210, the distance measuring device 110 performs distance measurement using the reception pattern selected in step S200. In this embodiment, the distance measuring device 110 performs distance measurement using the third reception pattern in all of the first function, the second function, and the third function.

[0040] According to the distance measuring device 110 of the present embodiment described above, it is possible to determine whether each of a plurality of reception patterns is valid or not using axis deviation information. Furthermore, the distance measuring device 110 selects a reception pattern to be used for distance measurement from among the reception patterns determined to be valid using the acquired moving state. Therefore, when the reception pattern associated with the moving state of the moving body 300 is determined to be invalid, measurement is performed using the reception pattern determined to be valid. Therefore, when the reception pattern associated with the moving state of the moving body 300 is invalid, it is possible to prevent the sensor unit 10 from being immediately determined to be faulty and distance measurement from being stopped. Furthermore, distance measurement can be continued within a range that can satisfy the distance measurement performance required for each function.

[0041] In addition, the first and second reception patterns have higher distance measurement performance in the first areas A11 and A21 in the detection range than in the second areas A12 and A22 that surround the first area A11. Therefore, even if the moving body 300 is traveling at a high speed, there is a high probability that the distance to a target located far ahead on the road can be measured.

[0042] In the first function, the first reception pattern corresponding to a fast moving speed has higher distance measurement performance than the second reception pattern corresponding to a slow moving speed. That is, when the moving speed of the moving body 300 is fast, the control unit 31 performs distance measurement using a reception pattern with higher distance measurement performance than when the moving speed is slow. Therefore, when the time to approach the target is short, the distance to the target can be measured with high accuracy.

[0043] B. Second embodiment: The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the control unit 31 uses the determination result of the reception pattern determination process to control the moving speed of the moving object 300. Since the driving assistance system 100 in the second embodiment has the same configuration as the driving assistance system 100 in the first embodiment, a description of the configuration of the driving assistance system 100 will be omitted.

[0044] The following describes the case where the first function is executed. As shown in FIG. 7, in the first function, a combination of reception patterns associated with a moving state has a higher distance measurement performance in a reception pattern corresponding to a fast moving speed than in a reception pattern corresponding to a slow moving speed. In this embodiment, the control unit 31 determines the highest speed among the moving speeds associated with the reception patterns determined to be valid in the process of step S200 (see FIG. 8) in the distance measurement process as the upper limit speed. The control unit 31 instructs the automatic driving control unit 210 to control the traveling so that the moving speed of the moving body 300 does not exceed the upper limit speed. The control unit 31 also determines to perform distance measurement using the reception pattern associated with the upper limit speed.

[0045] As shown in Fig. 7, when the moving speed of the moving body 300 is 50km / h or less, the predetermined reception pattern corresponding to the moving state is valid for all of the first, second, and third functions. Therefore, the control unit 31 determines 50km / h, which is the fastest speed among the moving speeds at which the patterns associated with all the functions are determined to be valid, as the upper limit speed, and instructs the automatic driving control unit 210 to drive the moving body 300 at 50km / h or less. The control unit 31 also performs distance measurement using the third reception pattern.

[0046] According to the control unit 31 of the second embodiment described above, the moving speed of the moving object 300 is controlled depending on whether the reception pattern is enabled or disabled. Therefore, it is possible to perform distance measurement using a reception pattern that is determined in advance and that corresponds to the moving state.

[0047] C. Other embodiments: (C1) In the above-described embodiment, the reception characteristics of the incident wave are not uniform in the horizontal and vertical directions of the sensor unit 10. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is sufficient that the sensor unit 10 has at least one of the emission characteristics of the emitted wave and the reception characteristics of the incident wave in at least one of the horizontal and vertical directions that is not uniform.

[0048] (C2) In the above-described embodiment, the control unit 31 may determine whether each reception pattern is valid or invalid using information indicating a malfunction of the mechanism for emitting the emitted wave of the sensor unit 10 or the mechanism for receiving the incident wave, in addition to the axis misalignment information. For example, when there is dirt on the optical window in front of the light receiving element that receives the incident wave, the control unit 31 identifies an area in the reception range TA of the incident wave that is affected by the dirt, and determines a reception pattern that does not use the identified area to be valid.

[0049] (C3) In the above-described embodiment, the distance measuring device 110 has the sensor unit 10 and the control unit 31. This is not limiting, and the distance measuring device 110 does not need to have the sensor unit 10. The control unit 31 may use axis deviation information of the sensor unit 10 of an external device to determine whether the received pattern is valid or invalid, and perform distance measurement.

[0050] (C4) In the above-described embodiment, the control unit 31 may perform a diagnostic determination that distance measurement is not possible when the amount of axis misalignment is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold misalignment amount. The threshold misalignment amount is, for example, the amount of axis misalignment at which all reception patterns are determined to be invalid.

[0051] (C5) In the above-described embodiment, the first reception pattern and the second reception pattern have higher ranging performance in the first areas A11 and A21 in the detection range than in the second areas A12 and A22 that surround the first area A11. Not limited to this, the reception pattern may have higher ranging performance in a certain area in the detection range than in another area that surrounds a part of the certain area. Also, the reception pattern may have higher ranging performance in one of the two divided areas than in the other area.

[0052] (C6) In the second embodiment described above, the control unit 31 controls the moving speed of the moving body 300. Not limited to this, the control unit 31 may select a road on which the moving body 300 travels and control the selection of the road when traveling on that road. That is, the control unit 31 may restrict the road on which the moving body 300 travels. More specifically, the control unit 31 may determine the amount of gradient in the vertical direction and the amount of curve in the horizontal direction on which the moving body 300 can travel, and control to restrict the traveling of the moving body 300. The control unit 31 uses the axis deviation information to determine the amount of gradient in the vertical direction according to the amount by which the detection range of the reception pattern can be moved in the vertical direction. Also, the control unit 31 determines the amount of curve in the horizontal direction according to the amount by which the detection range of the reception pattern can be moved in the horizontal direction.

[0053] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and can be realized in various configurations without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. For example, the technical features in the embodiments corresponding to the technical features in each form described in the Summary of the Invention column can be appropriately replaced or combined in order to solve the above-mentioned problems or to achieve some or all of the above-mentioned effects. Furthermore, if the technical feature is not described as essential in this specification, it can be appropriately deleted.

[0054] The control unit and the method described in the present disclosure may be realized by a special-purpose computer provided by configuring a processor and a memory programmed to execute one or more functions embodied in a computer program. Alternatively, the control unit and the method described in the present disclosure may be realized by a special-purpose computer provided by configuring a processor with one or more dedicated hardware logic circuits. Alternatively, the restriction unit and the method described in the present disclosure may be realized by one or more special-purpose computers configured by a combination of a processor and a memory programmed to execute one or more functions and a processor configured with one or more hardware logic circuits. Also, the computer program may be stored in a computer-readable non-transitory tangible recording medium as instructions executed by a computer. [Explanation of symbols]

[0055] 10...sensor unit, 20...storage unit, 30...CPU, 31...control unit, 100...driving assistance system, 110...distance measuring device, 210...automatic driving control unit, 220...driving force control ECU, 230...braking force control ECU, 240...steering control ECU, 250...vehicle network, 300...mobile body

Claims

1. A distance measuring device (110), A sensor unit (10) in which at least one of an emission characteristic of an emitted wave and a reception characteristic of an incident wave including a reflected wave of the emitted wave reflected by a target is not uniform in at least one of a horizontal direction and a vertical direction; a storage unit (20) for storing a plurality of reception patterns of the incident waves corresponding to a moving state of a moving body (300) on which the distance measuring device is mounted; A control unit (30) that uses axial misalignment information of the distance measuring device to determine whether each of the multiple receiving patterns is valid for distance measurement, and uses the acquired moving state to measure the distance to the target object located within a predetermined detection range using a receiving pattern selected from the receiving patterns determined to be valid.

2. 2. A distance measuring device according to claim 1, A ranging device, wherein the multiple receiving patterns have a ranging performance of a first region in the detection range that is higher than a ranging performance of a second region that surrounds at least a portion of the first region.

3. 3. A distance measuring device according to claim 2, the moving state includes a moving speed of the moving object; A distance measuring device, wherein the reception pattern corresponding to a case where the moving speed is fast has higher distance measuring performance than the reception pattern corresponding to a case where the moving speed is slow.

4. A driving assistance system (100), A distance measuring device according to claim 3 ; The moving body on which the distance measuring device is mounted; A driving support system comprising: a driving control unit (210) that controls the moving speed of the moving object using a result of the control unit's determination of whether the reception pattern is valid or not.

5. A distance measuring method performed by a distance measuring device, comprising: receiving the incident wave using a sensor unit in which at least one of an emission characteristic of the emitted wave and a reception characteristic of the incident wave including a reflected wave of the emitted wave reflected by a target is not uniform in at least one of a horizontal direction and a vertical direction; storing a plurality of reception patterns of the incident waves corresponding to a moving state of a moving body on which the distance measuring device is mounted; determining whether each of the plurality of reception patterns is effective for distance measurement using axis deviation information of the distance measuring device; and using the acquired moving state to measure a distance to the target present within a predetermined detection range using a receiving pattern selected from the receiving patterns determined to be valid.

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